I have posted this message somewhere else on this website too, but I think it’s better here. I have an apartment which also has a rooftop apartment which we have been renting out. The tenant is leaving and I was thinking of cat-proofing it and turning it into a cat hotel (nr Shi Da). I have two cats myself and know it’s a bit of a nightmare when you decide to go away. I don’t want to leave them in pet shop cages and it is a lot to ask friends to do.
I was thinking of charging about the same as the pet shop cages. You supply food, I supply litter. The rooftop is one large room with ac, and I was thinking of also building an outdoor play area. Would enough people use it to make the initial investment worthwhile?
Sure, but you would have to make a serious investment in cat-proofing. For example, I have a couple of Houdini’s, one of them almost fell into the washer the other day…
Plus disease control. You have to make sure all cats are in top shape.
what about issues with getting along? Some cats can be pretty aggressive - I wonder if you would need to “test out” the cats behaviour and have separate areas for different groups (the way Animals Taiwan separates “packs”, or the way boarding kennels have cages…). This would considerably increase the infrastructure/investment cost (adding walls and such).
Also , regarding AC - if the area is really big, then air conditioning would be quite expensive - would this be cost effective if you only had, say, one client?
Start by limiting your clients, so that you can learn some lessons early before you’ve taken the larger plunge. And your early, small-scale success can go some way toward funding gradual expansion. Cat Hotel strikes me as something very very scalable. Hell, you could start by offering space to 1 cat. That in itself makes it an attractive business to start, or try.
I would also be interested - I have 2 cats, both neutered, plus another that we promised our friend to look after since she’s leaving tw for cny, but I wannago on holiday. Only one cat is a mean bastard =D
great idea if anyone else has the time or inclination…?
The disease control is definitely important. I’ve seen some cat hotels posting on Chinese online shopping site. Hotel owners generally only take cats that are vaccinated and healthy.
Maybe a good idea to start with simply settings, providing comfortable safe space without “escape route”, establish your client base then gradually improve the set up?
I imagine initially it wouldn’t be as profitable as rent it out, but in the long run, it could probably match up when you increase the services you provide.
